Siara Rouzer

BOTH OF MY RESEARCH ASSISTANTS WHO APPLIED FOR PHD PROGRAMS THIS CYCLE HAVE RECEIVED ACCEPTANCES!!!

I'M SOOOO HAPPY!!!! 😱🤩😍

White House stalls release of approved US science budgets The US Congress rejected sweeping cuts to science agencies. But the NIH, the NSF and NASA have had their spending slowed.

Congress rejected massive cuts to US science budgets for 2026, but much of the money still isn’t flowing to researchers.

The culprit? The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quietly slow-walking the release of funds. 🧵👇

Screenshot from an NIH website reading: "Table 1 shows the number of principal investigators (PIs) applying for or receiving an R01-equivalent grant in FYs 2021 to 2025, disaggregated by career stage. NIH supported 1,423 and 1,144 ESIs in FYs 2024 and 2025, respectively. The decrease seen in FY 2025 may likely be due in part to NIH implementing a requirement to use 50% of its remaining competing Research Project Grant (RPG) funds (starting in June 2025) for full-year funded competing RPGs, which was expected to lead to fewer awards and support fewer researchers overall."

Check this out straight from the NIH website, acknowledging that multiyear funding was likely responsible for a 20% decrease in early stage investigators.

And that it was expected.

A strange approach for someone so committed to the next generation of scientists.

grants.nih.gov/news-events/...

Meme from Pawn Stars of Rick Harrison saying, "The best I can do is ask ChatGPT."

WEBINAR FEB 26, 2026 @1PM ET HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS & INFLUENCE PEOPLE: SCIENTIST EDITION! Want people to care about your research? Want politicians to care about the state of science in our nation? This workshop will prepare you with skills to bring about real change: the art of 1:1 conversations. With speaker Dr. Rebecca Mellema of “Getting Science Write.” RSVP HERE! https://tr.ee/P8bSDf

Enjoyed the last Webinar? Join us for another webinar next Wednesday with Dr. Rebecca Mellema of Getting Science Write to learn how to communicate your scientific research and knowledge to make change in the scientific world and policy.

Sign up at tr.ee/P8bSDf and join us on Zoom!

#science

Next Wednesday, the RSA Advocacy Committee is hosting a members-only webinar on how research policy is shaped and how YOU can engage thoughtfully and effectively.

We’ll talk about:
• Why advocacy is essential
• What’s happening at the federal level
• Practical tips for engaging

Register below! 📝

When your computer performs an unsanctioned reboot and you lose the vital 137 tabs you had open.

Do you have passionate trainees who want to lean into advocacy? Join me (and many others, like @siararouzer.bsky.social ) to learn more about the basics of advocacy!!

Impact Seminars: The importance and impact of Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis Plus (SGBA+) in brain research. Feb. 10, 2026 (Rescheduled), MSB 148 & Zoom, from 2-3:30pm. With Liisa Galea, PhZD, FCAHS, and Kendra Loedige, MSc. Sponsored by Western BrainsCAN.

This exciting event has finally been rescheduled! Join us on Feb. 10 at @westernu.ca for an insightful conversation about SGBA+ in brain research with the insightful @liisagalea.bsky.social and Kendra Loedige moderated by @lisasaksida.bsky.social. Register here: brainscan-sgba-seminar.eventbrite.ca

Slowly sketching out the postdoc → PI journey, while still knee-deep in current projects. Would love to hear from neuroscience environments that value ideas, collaboration, and good mentoring. Priority is staying in the UK, but open to opportunities abroad. Tips from those who’ve been there welcome!

Graduate Students’ NSF Fellowship Applications Are Being “Returned Without Review” - Eos Graduate students applying for NSF funding have had their applications returned without review—even though their proposed research appears to fall squarely within the fields of study outlined in the p...

Students applying for NSF funding are having their applications “returned without review” for being “ineligible,” despite their proposed research falling squarely within the application guidelines. eos.org/research-and...

I am SO incredibly excited to announce the launch of a global list of Inspiring Black Scientists. You can use this list to nominate and connect with researchers. Please share and join us in highlighting these outstanding scientists for #BlackHistoryMonth and beyond!

www.wiley.com/en-us/resear...

Picture of mountain and sunset with Univ of New Mexico logo

🚨Faculty position just dropped. We are seeking a Psychology Clinic Director at the @unm.edu Dept of Psychology psychclinic.unm.edu, this position is focused on clinical training of PhD students in sunny, affordable, and progressive New Mexico.
Come join us!
unm.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

Second R01 for the lab submitted despite it all. Levi is taking all the credit for it (co-I of course).

Anyway continue calling your senators and reps. ICE has not left and we are still under a paramilitary occupation. My students are not safe and shouldn’t have to feel this way.

🚨 Requesting help:

I am looking for an agent who can facilitate more speaking gigs, podcast appearances, and interviews with journalists

I want to more widely share my story and expertise as a trans geneticist who understands the reality and complexity of "biological sex" 🏳️‍⚧️🧬

Please signal boost?

An n = 1 witnesses rarely inspires optimism.

www.help.senate.gov/hearings/mod...

Please no.

One of my favorite sessions of the conference. This conversation is critical for all researchers, and the Wellcome Initiative is VERY appropriately named!

A group of phenomenal cannabinoid researchers gather for the 2026 ACNP conference. They look incredible.

#ACNP ❤️ Cannabinoid Researchers! @acnporg.bsky.social

Thank you so much to Dionna Williams, Victoria Arango, and a scientist I deeply admire, David Jentsch, for sharing with the audience and demonstrating strength through vulnerability.

And thank you to the chairs and E&R committee at @acnporg.bsky.social for fostering this exchange of perspectives.

This was such a powerful session. While our journeys through research feel so individual, the ability to hear about one another's resilience is not only empowering, it's essential to create a community with sustained investment from scientists.

What a powerful conversation about what it’s like to navigate life and a research career with lived experience of mental illness. I’m deeply grateful for the speakers being willing to share their experiences and how we can all be more supportive of our colleagues #ACNP206 @acnporg.bsky.social

The world is a really shitty place, but people are standing up for our communities and putting our money into good efforts where we can. A group of women in neuro I am friends with decided to give back this holiday season. Together we donated $3200. Small efforts add up!!

Honored to receive a 2026 @sobp-org.bsky.social Travel Fellowship to attend my first SOBP conference! 🤩

It's such a great feeling!! 😍

I am truly grateful for my own successes, but seeing a student grow in skill and self-confidence over many semesters, and then have their accomplishments recognized by other institutions? IT'S THE BEST!

a man in a green elf costume is standing in a room with his mouth wide open . ALT: a man in a green elf costume is standing in a room with his mouth wide open .

BOTH OF MY UNDERGRAD ASSISTANTS WHO APPLIED FOR PHD PROGRAMS THIS CYCLE HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN INTERVIEW REQUESTS!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!

The doctor’s office really asked me to name and shame my "unremarkable" family members. They gotta know if wasted potential runs in our genes, I guess?

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article) A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.

The Trump administration has implemented policy changes at both the NIH and NSF that will reduce long term investments across the disciplines of scientific research. The result has been fewer grants and shortened grant duration.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This is an important and information rich article. I wondered about the effects by Institute. The table below (which is snipped here but is in the article) has that info. Broken down by # of grants and $ amounts.